Definition: The Spanish priest Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda is best remembered as a participant in what must be among the most important debates in history, at least with regard to the Spanish colonies in Central and South America.
The debate at Valladolid, Spain, took place in 1550; Bartolome de las Casas argued that the Native Americans should be treated as other loyal colonists, Sepúlveda argued that Native Americans were natural slaves and violence was needed to make them be amenable to conversion. ("Natural slaves" was a concept of Aristotle.) This didn't mean the end of the Spanish Inquisition in the New World, of course. Today Sepúlveda is known as the 'father of modern racism".
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology.
The debate at Valladolid, Spain, took place in 1550; Bartolome de las Casas argued that the Native Americans should be treated as other loyal colonists, Sepúlveda argued that Native Americans were natural slaves and violence was needed to make them be amenable to conversion. ("Natural slaves" was a concept of Aristotle.) This didn't mean the end of the Spanish Inquisition in the New World, of course. Today Sepúlveda is known as the 'father of modern racism".
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology.
